Saturday 30th October 2021
This is “super bitter”
BER Airport needs new money
Just one year after opening, BER Airport urgently needs more money – and quickly. The funds only lasted until the first quarter of the new year, explains BER boss von Massenbach. Transport Minister Scheuer is applying additional pressure and calling for a report on the breakdowns during the autumn holidays.
BER Airport, which opened a year ago, urgently needs the next financial injection to avert bankruptcy. “We need money fast, we need cash,” said the new boss, Aletta von Massenbach, to the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”. According to this, the liquidity of the Berlin, Brandenburg and Federal Airport Company (FBB) will last “until the first quarter of 2022”. However, FBB had to “make a large payment for debt servicing” in mid-February, said von Massenbach. “We cannot do the debt service ourselves for a long time.”
FBB needs a further 2.4 billion euros from its three owners by 2026. “The fact that we still need so much money for BER is extremely bitter,” said von Massenbach, who has been head of FBB since October 1st. There is no plan B. One could, of course, decline the scope for action. “BER is ready, you can run it and earn money. Or it just costs.”
Von Massenbach also assured that consequences were drawn from the autumn holiday chaos at BER. “I guarantee we’ll do everything we can to make it run as smoothly as possible,” she said. “I cannot guarantee that it will always work perfectly.”
Scheuer calls for a breakdown report
The acting Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer meanwhile put the management of the airport under pressure because of the autumn vacation debacle. According to information from “Welt am Sonntag” from ministry circles, the CSU minister is demanding a written report on the breakdowns from BER boss von Massenbach and has given management a deadline of November 5th.
During the autumn holidays, there were extremely long waiting times due to a lack of staff. But there are numerous other problems with the airport, which opened a year ago. Reports include overflowing garbage cans, broken floor tiles, frequently dirty toilets and defective escalators and elevators. There is also a dispute over the number of taxis that are allowed to drive to the airport from Berlin and Brandenburg.
According to the newspaper, the management should comment on all these points by the end of next week and suggest solutions. A conversation between Scheuer and the BER boss is also planned afterwards. The federal government is co-owner of the airport along with the states of Berlin and Brandenburg.